A Japanese series that just dropped for global audiences is garnering a lot of attention for its intense, violent scenes.
Shōgun is a new Japanese series that has just landed on Disney+ and has quickly become a fan favorite not just because of the incredibly thrilling storyline, but also because of its amazing effects and visuals.
Watch the trailer for the series below:
The series, which was written by Hideyuki Kurata and directed by Gorō Taniguchi, is set in the 1600s and follows the story of a European navigator called John Blackthorne, who finds himself washed up on the shores of Japan, as it stands on the brink of a century-defining civil war.
It also sees Lord Yoshii Toranaga use Blackthorne's presence as well as other discoveries to smother the potential uprising against his rulership and "devastate his enemies."
Despite just hitting the streaming platform a week ago, the show has already garnered a growing fanbase and has even seen sky-high ratings on both Rotten Tomatoes (99%) and IMDb (9.2 stars).
Amongst an all-star cast including Hiroyuki Sanada Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai, there are lots of scenes that have evoked a strong reaction from viewers, one particular scene which shows the torture of a captive who gets boiled in a huge cauldron filled with water at a temperature of 180 degrees has really taken the top spot.
On Twitter, better known now as X, people have started discussing the scene there.
"That boiling scene in Shogun is brutal," wrote one user, while another added: "I shouldn’t have watched Shogun in the middle of the night… ima get nightmares from that boiling scene."
A third even compared it to Game of Thrones, stating: "I'm sorry but that shogun boiling scene has been on my mind since I watched it lmfaooo they really made a stew out of that man. I thought GOT was bad w they beheading and torture but I think that takes the cake."
Others were also shocked writing: "Wait bruh, they just threw someone in boiling water on Shogun."
Critics are also clearly enjoying the series with Rebecca Nicholson of the Guardian giving it four stars stating that it "is gorgeous television that looks as if it cost a fortune to make."
"Wise choices have been made – most obviously, that the audience can be trusted to handle a bilingual story," the review continued. "This seems like common sense in a globalised television landscape but it is not hard to imagine that a modern version of Shōgun could have been made entirely in English, which would have dented the intellect and power of the story. As it is, this great drama trusts its own composed pace. This makes for good-looking, self-assured and often enthralling television."
Empire's Jake Cunningham described Shōgun as "gripping," adding that it was "swirling, surf-smacked cinematography in one moment, to gently ebbing, awe-inspiring seascapes the next; here, the landscapes of terror and beauty are precariously balanced. Within it are elegantly costumed characters draped in finely detailed silks and ornate, cascading armour that glows in the fog of war – whether in a vista or a candlelit portrait, it’s all very screenshot-able."
Shōgun is now available to stream on Disney+.
